Chapter 76: Yizhou’s Illusion (Part 4)

Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Yizhou’s Illusion (Part 4)

Once again, the scene shifted back to the underground prison.

Sui Sui found himself inside Yizhou’s cell, surrounded by the same cold stone walls and dim glow of the luminous pearls. Yizhou was still there, sitting weakly against the wall. The wound on his abdomen had already healed, but the damage left by the extraction of his Golden Core was far from recovered. Without his cultivation, he looked considerably weaker than before.

However, there was something different about this scene.

Because Yizhou was not alone.

Sui Sui looked around in surprise. A second figure stood within the darkness of the cell, but the shadows concealed most of his appearance. Sui Sui could only make out a vague outline.

Before he could move closer, a man’s voice echoed through the darkness.

"Child, do you want to escape?"

The voice was emotionless and calm, yet it carried an incomparably powerful aura. Even though the man had spoken only a few words, Sui Sui could feel the faint pressure contained within his voice.

Yizhou, who was sitting on the ground, remained silent.

Sui Sui was stunned.

What was going on?

There had never been such a scene in the novel.

As far as he remembered, the novel had only mentioned that Yizhou somehow managed to escape from the Wenjian Sect’s underground prison. It had never explained how he had done it, much less mentioned anyone helping him.

But now, it seemed that Yizhou had not escaped on his own.

Sui Sui quickly realized that this actually made much more sense.

After losing his Golden Core and damaging his own dantian in the process, Yizhou had been left without any cultivation. The underground prison was heavily guarded, so how could someone in his condition possibly escape by himself?

So it was natural that there must have been someone who helped him.

But who was this person?

And why had the novel never mentioned him?

Sui Sui immediately became curious. He hurried closer, trying to see the man’s face hidden within the darkness.

If he could just get a little closer, perhaps he could finally discover the identity of this mysterious person and learn how Yizhou had escaped.

But before he could see clearly, the scene suddenly began to blur.

"Huh?" Sui Sui froze.

The prison cell, the mysterious figure, and even Yizhou’s silhouette all began fading away.

"Wait!" Sui Sui hurried forward, but it was already too late.

The entire scene disappeared again in the blink of an eye.

Sui Sui stood there in disbelief. "How could this be?"

Why was this illusion so unreliable?

It had finally shown him something important, only to cut the scene off before he could even see the person’s face.

Sui Sui could only stare at the empty space in frustration. "Can’t you at least let me see who he is first?"

The next scene appeared, and this one was much more familiar to Sui Sui.

Although he did not know exactly how everything had happened, he could recognize the general situation. This should be after Yizhou had escaped from the Wenjian Sect.

Sui Sui looked toward the young man hiding beneath a cloak. His face was not seen clearly, making it impossible to tell who he was, but judging from the circumstances, this should be Yizhou.

Sui Sui was not sure how much time had passed since the incident at the Wenjian Sect. The novel had never given a particularly clear timeline for this period. It only mentioned that after escaping, Yizhou had fled to a distant city.

Unfortunately, although his external injuries could be healed, the damage to his Dantian and Golden Core could never be restored.

The once-proud son of Heaven had fallen from the peak of cultivation and become nothing more than a mortal.

There was another problem as well.

After awakening his demonic bloodline, Yizhou had relied on his cultivation to suppress the demonic energy within his body. Now that his Golden Core had been forcibly removed and he had lost his cultivation, he no longer had the strength to keep that power under control.

As a result, the demonic energy would occasionally leak from his body.

His eyes had also remained bright red, permanently marking him as a demon in the eyes of others.

Sui Sui looked at the cloaked figure in silence.

Even though Yizhou had survived and escaped, his troubles had only just begun.

Wherever he went, the protagonist would be hunted.

Yet despite everything, the kind upbringing he had received as a child still remained with him. Even while being constantly pursued, he could not bring himself to kill people, believing that protecting oneself was simply a natural instinct.

But by this point, the entire realm was hunting him.

It did not help that incidents involving demons wreaking havoc in various places had become increasingly common. With tensions toward demons already running high, Yizhou’s bright red eyes were enough to make people treat him as a threat the moment they discovered his identity.

Caught in this endless cycle of pursuit and escape, Yizhou encountered danger after danger. His body might have survived, but his soul was slowly being worn down.

He was betrayed again and again.

Even when he helped people, the outcome was often the same. Once, he rescued an old man from danger. Another time, he helped a young woman who had been attacked. They were both genuinely grateful to him at first, but the moment they noticed his bright red eyes, their gratitude quickly turned into fear.

They did not hesitate to sell him out to the various sects and mercenaries hunting him.

No matter how kindly he treated them, the moment they realized he was a demon, everything changed.

If not for his natural talent in combat, Yizhou might not have survived this long. Even without cultivation, his physical strength and battle instincts were enough to keep him alive through countless encounters.

But surviving was not the same as living.

This was the point in the novel when the protagonist truly began to understand how cruel the world could be. One betrayal after another had slowly worn down the kindness he once possessed, and this period became the beginning of his descent into darkness.

It was also when Yizhou reached the lowest point of his life.

And at that moment, he met Lin Fan again.

His good brother, whom he had not seen since everything had fallen apart.

When Sui Sui remembered this part, he could not help but snort.

Good Brother my ass!

When Yizhou met Lin Fan again, he did not immediately trust him. After being betrayed so many times, Yizhou had become extremely paranoid. He was cold and defensive toward Lin Fan at first, keeping his distance and refusing to believe that anyone could genuinely want to help him.

Lin Fan, however, did not seem to mind.

He continued helping Yizhou whenever he could. There were even several occasions when Lin Fan deliberately helped him escape after they encountered trouble like being hunted down by several sects, never asking for anything in return.

When Sui Sui had first read this part of the novel, he could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Finally.

The author had finally regained their conscience.

After everything the protagonist had suffered, this should be the moment when things finally started getting better, right?

Wrong.

Sui Sui had been far too optimistic.

Because the author had one final blow waiting for the protagonist.

As Sui Sui watched, the illusion continued to follow the events described in the novel.

Sui Sui could only watch as Lin Fan and Yizhou slowly became acquainted again, just as the original story had written.